Share? Over My Dead Body!

Hannah has experienced many of her friends sharing toys, books, puzzles, etc. with her. She understands the concept. She is a nice girl. Yet, the other day when given the opportunity to share something of hers with a friend, she not only balked, she outright went nuts.

Her friend had been given a caterpillar in a jar and was going to watch it turn into a butterfly over time. Hannah happened to have a book about this very thing with lift-the-flaps and all. It was a perfect pairing for this little boy. Even the type of caterpillar was the same. However, when I offered the book, Hannah became upset. Very upset. Possessive in a scary way. She hugged the book to her chest and cried that she didn't want to give it to them. I tried to reason with her. She didn't budge. I shrugged it off, assuming that in 5 minutes, after she'd forgotten about it, I'd just sneak the book into my friends' things. She did not let the book out of her sight or her tight grip. In fact, she was so worried about me giving them the book, she didn't want to say good-bye. Instead, she chose to stay in the safety of a chair in the office, clutching the book safely in her arms.

I was embarrassed (though I'm familiar with Hannah's theatrics), but there was not way to pry that book from her hands without causing undue stress or grief. It just wasn't worth it. An innocent spectator might have thought I'd asked Hannah to donate a kidney to her friend. These are the things that are supposed to happen to other peoples' kids so I can watch and shake my head and think, Thank goodness my kid doesn't act like that.